Month: October 2015

Of all the things I’ve given up in my adult life, I miss my movie collection the most.

Movies have always been a huge part of my life. Growing up, we always had stacks upon stacks of VHS, and every Christmas and birthday, they were the presents I looked forward to the most. When I was 14, I finally got my own TV/VCR combo, and it wasn’t long before I had a bookcase of my own piled up with tapes. We only ever had basic cable, and I wasn’t a big TV fan when I was younger, so I relied on movies (and books and comics) for entertainment. And I was perfectly happy.

When I was 16, I started working at Blockbuster, and I got my first DVD player. My collection of tapes turned into a collection of DVDs, which filled three 75 CD books when I left for college. While in New York, I worked at Sam Goody, and I kept buying more movies. Then I worked at Borders*, and bought even more**. The first time I moved out of my parents house, it took about 8 boxes to contain my movie collection.

But then I graduated college and started to move around a bit, and it was hard to lug movies around that I didn’t watch all the time. Then I ran out of money a few times. So I started selling chunks of my collection for cash. And then I started working “real” jobs without a discount on DVDs. And then On-Demand happened. And downloading. And Netflix. And then Netflix on Wii. And Amazon Prime Instant. And Netflix on my phone. And then HBOgo. And Hulu. And by then, I forgot about buying movies.

By the time I left for Sydney, I had just 1 box of movies. 8 boxes to 1? I could feel the eyes of 17 year old Audrey searing judgement into me.

As much as I love having thousands of movies at my digital helm, I miss having a giant bookcase filled with DVDs, blu rays, and VHS (yes VHS – how else would I watch un-retouched original trilogy Star Wars?). I miss unwrapping movies at Christmas. I miss tracking release dates. I miss going to Blockbuster to pick out a weekend’s worth of movies. I miss picking up boxes and looking, judging, considering. I even miss getting my hopes up about a new release and waiting by the drop box for someone to return it. And I miss 5 for $20 sales.

So when Joel and I were walking through JB-HiFi and saw this

our ears pricked up and we started pawing through the tables and bins. And then we saw this

Joel made the point that for every $6.99 – $9.99 movie rental on iTunes, we could have gone to the store and bought a movie. Same financial risk as with renting a digital movie, but we’d be able to keep if it was really good. And we get the added fun of getting out of the house and picking through the titles – back in the day style. So we picked out a few titles and headed home, where I instantly opened them all and read every part of the packaging from cover to cover – another movie ritual I missed.

What’s ridiculous is that it’s barely been 8 years since I started selling off my movie collection and streaming movies, but when I talk about how I watch movies now versus how I watched movies then,I feel like it’s been 30 years. I’ve become so accustomed to instant gratification and “cloud” living that I’ve lost that appreciation for collecting and really enjoying that tangible aspect of movies. Rapid fire advancements in technology have enabled my laziness to a level I didn’t even think was possible – I mean, I was incredibly lazy before smart phones and instant downloads and online shopping. So it’s nice to have these sparks of nostalgia that bring me back to my roots.

Now if only I could find a cheap movie theater so I can go tothe movies and still be able to afford my rent.

*yes, every retail store I’ve worked for is now nearly or officially out of business.
**see, also: Why Audrey Had No Savings During School

Part biscuit. Part caramel chew. Part chocolate bar. 100% life changing. This, my friends, is the tale of the Caramel Slice. Aka Millionaires Shortbread.

The first time I saw a caramel slice in a cafe fridge, I thought it was a piece of peanut butter pie with chocolate topping. I fantasized about buying one every time I passed the cafe, until Joel told me it was caramel, not peanut butter. That stopped the fantasies right then and there, because I like caramel as much as I like math… which is to say, not in the fucking slightest. So I put it out of my mind. Until one day, when Joel came home with one. And I tried a bit. Soft, crumbly biscuit base, fudgey center that didn’t taste all that much like caramel, and smooth milk chocolate topping. Not bad at all. But still, I wasn’t sold. It was good, but nothing to write home about.

A few weeks later, my boss had a sweet craving, and asked me to pick her up a ‘slice. The cafe near work was selling them two for $5, so I got one for her, and one for Joel. I stashed Joel’s in the fridge, where it haunted me. Soft, Crumbly Cookie. Gooey Fudge. Delicious Chocolate. Yum. The slice barely made it home uneaten. And since that day, I’ve been obsessed. It’s my favourite Aussie treat, ever. And on Sunday, I took a stab at making them!

Which is great, because I needed another reason to gain 15 lbs.

The most exotic ingredient you’ll need is desiccated coconut. Or golden syrup. Or dark chocolate. I guess it depends on what you think of as ‘exotic.’The recipe calls for a parchment paper lined pan, but I used the butter/flour method, and nothing stuck.Sunday’s apron brought to you by GOOGLY EYE CAT NATIONBaking is infinity times better with my birthday scale.Mix the brown sugar, coconut, flour and melted butter, and vanilla. yummmonce combined, press into the bottom of the pan. Take a moment to appreciate the beauty of a giant block-o-butterI got crazy and decided to double up the base, because it’s the best part (in my opinion). I love carbs.yummmmm. Put it in the oven and bake for 10 mins.over low heat, mix condensed milk, butter, vanilla and brown sugar. Stir constantly for 10-15 mins and you’ll have your caramel filling!stir. Stir forever. Stir until your arms go numb.Remember, dont over bake your base, and don’t bake it in an oven 10* higher than the recipe calls for. Both of which I did. So my base is crunchy on the edges, but soft in the middle. Learn from me, folks!Pour the caramel over the base, and bake for 10-15 mins more, until caramel starts to bubble on the edges, and turns a slightly darker color.mmm, spongey. Now, let it cool COMPLETELY, for 1-2 hours. You can use this time to catch up on housework. Or call loved ones. Or watch Gossip Girl. The choice is yours. Orrrr, you could chop up chocolate! I used two parts dark (70% cocoa) to one part milk. Next time, I’m using two parts milk to one part dark.Melt butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Or, a double boiler. I don’t have a heat proof bowl, so I improvised.Voila! Double boiler – so science.Melt, baby.yeeeeeahSpread it over the COMPLETELY COOLED (can’t emphasize this enough) caramel filling, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon.Chill for at least an hour in the fridge. Watch some more Gossip Girl.And when the chocolate has set… you have a delicious treat.mmmmmMmmmmmm

So go on… treat yo’self. You’ll never think of caramel the same way again.

Preheat oven to 180°C (350*F). Grease a 16 cm x 26 cm (long and shallow) shallow slice tin and line the base and sides with one piece of non-stick baking paper, cutting into the corners to fit.

BASECombine the flour, baking powder, desiccated coconut and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add the butter and vanilla and mix well. Crumble evenly over the base of the lined tin and use your hands to press down firmly and cover evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove from the oven.

FILLING
Meanwhile, to make the caramel filling, combine the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in a small saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly (do not boil).

Pour the hot caramel immediately over the base and use the back of a metal spoon to smooth the surface. Return the slice to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the caramel has darkened slightly and starts to bubble around the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside for 1 hour or until cooled completely.

CHOCOLATE TOPPINGCombine the dark chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the water touch the base of the bowl) and stir frequently until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Pour over the cooled slice and use the back of a metal spoon to cover evenly. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until the chocolate sets (see Baker’s tips).

It just occurred to me, 11 days into October, that I haven’t done my catch up post for September.

Whoops!

And that’s basically because not much happened in September. Joel and I were both light on funds, so there was a lot of hanging out at home. A lot of Netflix and chill. A lot of making lunch meals in advance. A lot of going to work and coming home. Not a lot of fuss, and not a lot of bother. You know it was a slow month when you have to look back through your meal calendar to remember what you got up to. But here’s the nitty gritty:

stomach bug – started this month with a 4 day round of gut wrenching stomach issues. Gross.

Fiscal Freeze – It was really hard, but I kept mostly to my “no unnecessary spending” goal. I lost track toward the end of the month (when I ran out of money and had to borrow from savings), but the ‘unnecessary’ spending I did make were cab rides, a few coffees, one breakfast, and a couple meals out. It did make me take a long, hard look at how I spend money, and how fast it all goes.

anniversary in Sydney – celebrated 1 year of living Sydney-side. +10, would reside again.

One of Joel’s customers gave a bottle of bubbly. Free champagne is the best champagne.

pizza parties – because we weren’t spending money on unnecessary things, we had room to splurge on unnecessary things – like pizza. Ok, we didn’t really have room to splurge, but sometimes you need pizza.

yes plz

bill murray bar – discovered a brewery called Young Henry’s, where the walls are decorated with Bill Murray prints. Such love.

sweet baby Bill

China Town adventures/Nikon – we crawled all over China Town for a weekend, and I got to use Grampa, my Grampa’s film camera.

totes a professional photographer now.

Joel’s last day/vacation – Mr. Joel left his full time job to focus on more freelance work, which is an incredibly exciting move. To kick off this new path, he went on a road trip to Melbourne with his friend Craig. I had big, big plans to do lots of writing and reading and walking around sight-seeing and watching things on Netflix that Joel’s not in to – but there was some kind of mysterious super glue that seeped out of the couch once Joel left, and I found myself stuck to it, coma napping, junk food and bolognese eating and old episodes of Teen Mom watching.And it broke me. I was in a weird, moody funk for the next two weeks while my blood sugars readjusted.

Craig got a rare shot of the Joel in his natural habitat.

home cooking: So much cooking at home, from the scrapings of the fridge and pantry. Not pictured: 3 different variants of chicken stir fry, butter chicken, steak and vegetables and cous cous, Chicken Escobar – a delicious chicken, beans and rice dish that Joel came up with while we watched a marathon of Narcos (hence the moniker),and tuna bake (because no month will go by without a tuna bake)

lamb and lentil curryleft over curry + puff pastry = curry puffsRed Lobster style Cheddar Bay biscuits. A little piece of America that tasted just as good as they do in the restaurant. Joel believes they were handed down from God.Vanilla French Toast – whyyy is French Toast so delicious?I only had half the brown sugar I needed, so we improvised with raw sugar and milo and a splash of milk. Ended up being the best batch I’ve ever made!note to self: don’t make bolognese in a frying pan. And don’t make bolognese unless you have mince/ground meat. And don’t make it with month old $5 wine. This ended up tasting slightly better than off the shelf marinara.

donut day – artisan donuts from Grumpy Donuts, who had a temporary stand as part of a Spring Carnival promotion at one of the city shopping centers. I stood in a pretty long line to get these nibbles, and they didn’t disappoint. We ate them at Hyde Park, and did some people watching afterward.

We’ve been tip-toeing up to summer all through September, but every warm day we had was immediately followed by coats and boots or frozen rainy weather. Friday, though, brought the sunshine, and we’ve had 28-35*C days since. I’ve been reaching for flip flops and shorts, not boots and jeans. It’s still light outside at 7 PM. And at midnight, with the windows closed and the fan off, it still gets so warm that I sweat on my upper lip.

And with that, I’m calling it: summer is officially here. And I’m not dreading it like I did last year!

This optimism is mostly because I’m not having back to back summers this year. Or maybe I’m excited to not freeze every day when I’m at work (where the heater was functioning maybe 5 days out of the entire winter). Regardless of where this summer excitement is coming from, it’s a welcome change. Maybe I’ve just been glued to my couch for too long in grey, rainy weather (see: last post regarding funks), but I stepped outside in the warm sunshine on Friday morning and I just felt glad to be alive – warm weather AND a three day weekend? Heck yes.

Despite First Day of Flip Flops sore feet (why is the first day just terrible), and killing myself trying to walk up a hill (frighteningly out of shape) it was a banner weekend. And I’m 100% sad to go back to work tomorrow.

I ran out of all my toiletries in September. New Toiletry Day = Best Day.so much cobbler yum.Cheers!I was told that “shrimp” or prawns, as they’re called here, never go on the barbie. And these are called “skewers” not kebabs/kebobs. It was like everything I thought I knew was wrong.Joel’s Nan always brings articles and clippings to show him. It’s adorable.And she showed us this pic of her in the 80’s holding a snake, while wearing a gold turban. FIERCE.Joel at the meat helmMEAT FIRE! Joel showed me the continuous shooting function, and I got amazing shots of the grill catching fire (the meat was unharmed)and bubblesand more bubblesall the bubbleslazy Sunday cookie baking (and maybe the last day until March where it’s not too hot to turn on the oven)I ate raw berries for the first time this weekend, and they didn’t kill me. If I’m not careful, I might start eating better.lazy Sunday obsessive drawer re-ordering and kitchen clean out.Labour Day Beach Day! We checked out Balmoral Beach, which is in the harbour, so no scary waves. Just calm, clear water. This meant no panic attacks for Audrey. /victoryThe remains of an antique shark net. We swam on the side that doesn’t have a net. Whhhoooopsthe water was perfect, if a little cold. And there’s rocks and cliffs for exploring. It’s perfect, and one day I’ll be able to walk up the extra steep hill leading to the beach without having a heart attack.First Neenish Tart. Must have more.

Three day weekends never seem long enough. But at least we got a kick ass summer kick off.

Here’s to more time outside! Here’s to sweating profusely 24/7! Here’s to towels drying without a weird smell on them! Here’s to the return of Spider Watch! And more importantly, here’s to not having to blow dry my hair until April.

Hello, summer. I’ve been surprisingly excited for you to get here*.

*check back in one month, when I’ll be willing to sell a kidney for air conditioning.